J109s see tight racing in Day 1 of Verve Cup

August 13, 2009 (CHICAGO) -- The J109 fleet kicked off racing today for the 2009 Verve Cup and the start of their North American Championships. Despite the light winds from 3-8 knots from the east and east-southeast, the fleet was able to complete three races for a sunny day of sailing on Lake Michigan.

Today’s racing made for some very tight competition. Although the top finisher changed in each race, it was the consistent performance of Storm, skippered by Rick Lyall (Wilton, Conn.) who placed 2, 1, 2 for a total of 5 to hold first place. In second place, only four points behind, is local boat and last year’s Verve section winner Zeitgeist, owned by Bob and Cornelia Zerban. And to round out the top three in the current standings, just one point behind in third is Texan Albrecht Goethe and crew on Surprise/Team Hamburg. Based on these standings it is still anyone’s regatta.

Tomorrow, the J109s will be joined by the other 13 sections for a total of 161 boats competing on three circles. For more updates go to vervecup.com or follow us on Twitter @vervecup.